 |
The research team (called the Applied Practice and Theory – APT) at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, in collaboration with the Genocide Prevention Program (GPP), is pleased to dedicate its inaugural report, “Guiding Framework for Preventing Electoral Violence,” as part of the APT Series on Genocide Prevention in the Africa Great Lakes Region, to the work of the Regional and National Committees of the ICGLR concerning preventing electoral violence. The ICGLR Regional and National Committees on Genocide Prevention, through Article 38 of the Protocol for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and All Forms of Discrimination, are committed to
i) monitoring and assessment of risks, on an on-going basis, of genocide and mass atrocities, including
discriminatory practices that entail genocidal dimensions and
ii) domesticating the Protocol in each Member State in the region.
Preventing genocide and mass atrocities is therefore a shared commitment of the Member States in the region, but one should not conflate the two approaches – “preventing genocide and mass atrocities” and “preventing electoral violence.” They are related but not synonymous. To be clear, genocide and electoral violence are different. While genocide prevention may or may not encompass the prevention of electoral violence, preventing electoral violence leads to one of the essential aspects of genocide prevention practices. This report is focused on preventing electoral violence as part of genocide prevention, by providing analytical tools and practical recommendations for the ICGLR Regional and National Committees to monitor and assess risks of electoral violence and prevent them from occurring and escalating.
Based on the mandate of the Protocol with a view to preventing and mitigating electoral violence, there are two aspects of violence that the ICGLR Regional and National Committees should be particularly attentive. One is the violence targeted against identifiable human groups. Second is the systematically organized violence. While the ICGLR Regional and National Committees shall work together with the national governments, the local law enforcement, and international and national elections monitoring teams to ensure safety and security of voters from spontaneous or sporadic riots, the Committees should be especially concerned with and prevent the violence that is systematically targeting identity groups in the electoral process. To this end, the following sections of the report present the topics relevant to elections and genocide prevention:
• Training and capacity building measures for election monitors
• Effective warning and response systems for election monitoring
• Analysis of media and speech acts as preventive communication
• The role of law enforcement and accountability issues
Finally, the report draws from lessons learned from the Kenyan elections, both in 2007 and in 2013. It seeks to illustrate the lessons that can be applied to other Member States in the ICGLR region, when they are gearing toward preparing for upcoming elections.